((PKG)) BARBER
((Banner: Barber))
((Reporter/Camera: Gabrielle Weiss))
((Map: Baltimore, Maryland))
((BANNER: The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training (MCVET) is a facility that provides housing and supportive services to homeless veterans.))
((NATS))
((DERICK JOHNSON, Resident of MCVET)) When I first got here, like anybody else, no money, just came off the street. I had hair all over my face, didn’t look like the person I am underneath of it, didn’t feel like the person I am underneath of it. So, when I got my first haircut, it was amazing how you see a different person underneath all that.
((NATS))
((KENNETH JORDAN, U.S. Airforce Veteran, Barber, Resident of MCVET)) You know it’s like a rebirth. If you’re one of them ones that’s coming truly off the street, you know, and that hot shower, you know, the fresh haircut, good conversation. When you leave out, you look better and you feel better than you did when you walked in the door. I truly believe that.
((NATS))
((ROBERT CRADLE, Managing Director, Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation)) In 1991 to 2003, I owned a barbershop that was actually located near a homeless shelter. When I found out those clients couldn’t afford to come to my shop, I decided to start raising money for my customers to be able to pay my barbers to provide haircuts for those clients. My customers loved it, so I decided to make it a full-blown organization.
((NATS))
((KENNETH JORDAN, U.S. Airforce Veteran, Barber, Resident of MCVET)) How you been?
((ROBERT CRADLE, Managing Director, Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation)) Great man, great. I’m just coming down doing my normal check. See if anything, look, look, this is what I always say, broke, stolen or empty. That’s all I come check for.
((MAN)) You want to know what’s broken?
((ROBERT CRADLE, Managing Director, Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation)) What’s that?
((MAN))
Your barber. Your barber.
((ROBERT CRADLE, Managing Director, Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation)) When we do an install, the clients become the in-house barbers and beauticians. So, they begin to care for one another.
((KENNETH JORDAN, U.S. Airforce Veteran, Barber, Resident of MCVET)) This is home. This is called the 2nd platoon 1st squad. We got these really nice beds. I sleep better now, no backaches. You know, it’s home for now. I got into barbering through the air force. I didn’t have the money to pay for a haircut, so I bought my own clippers and cut my own hair but I did my own hair so well that other people asked me to start doing theirs and it became a hobby that I never let go of.
((NATS))
((KENNETH JORDAN, U.S. Airforce Veteran, Barber, Resident of MCVET)) I’ve been here for about 5 months. I was, I was living out of my car. It was one of those nevers that became a reality. I have some grief issues that keep coming back to haunt me. This is where the barber shop comes into play because you find out that you’re not the only one whose lost a child and you find out other people are still dealing with those types of issues. I don’t feel like I’m alone. I’m getting the help that I need now, but the therapeutic value of this place right now, helps me a lot throughout the day.
((ROBERT CRADLE, Managing Director, Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation)) The role of a barber in a place like MCVET is probably more like a listening ear.
((NATS))
((DERICK JOHNSON, Resident of MCVET)) That’s my potion right there.
((ROBERT CRADLE, Managing Director, Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation)) So how is my organization a piece of the recovery puzzle or the piece of the exiting homelessness recovery? Well, it’s really simple. Looking good, having yourself arranged and put back together can mean the difference between employment and unemployment.
((MAN))
The very first time this man cut my hair, my self-esteem came back. I came back to myself.
((ROBERT CRADLE, Managing Director, Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation)) It’s not about giving back. You know, with me, really, it’s about solving a problem. You know, I have the capacity and ability to solve a specific problem with a specific population. I don’t do food. I don’t do medicine. I’ve been a barber and a fundraiser all my life. So those are the only two things I’m trained in. And so, if you put those together, you can solve certain problems that a lot of other people can’t solve. You know, there’s MCVET, of course, didn’t have the skill and ability to solve that problem, and that’s where I come in.
((KENNETH JORDAN, U.S. Airforce Veteran, Barber, Resident of MCVET)) The barber is like the bartender and the doctor. You never know what mood a person is in when they walk in the door but I know they’re in a better mood when they leave out and they look good. Can’t forget that. They look good.
